The Japan Times – M 7.3 Quake Hits Northeastern Japan – 7December2012

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 jolted northeastern and eastern Japan on Friday, with a 1-meter-high tsunami reaching Ishinomaki, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The 5:18 p.m. quake measured lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Iwate, Miyagi, Aomori, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures, the agency said.

The tsunami reached Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, at 6:02 p.m. after the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for wide areas along the Pacific coast.

All tsunami warnings were eventually lifted after 7:20 p.m.

The National Police Agency said there were no reports of injuries in the quake-hit areas as of 6 p.m.

The focus of the quake was 240 km off the Pacific coast of Miyagi at a depth of 10 km, the agency added.

The cities of Sendai, Iwanuma and Ishinomaki in Miyagi and Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture among others urged residents in coastal areas to evacuate.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities have been detected at nuclear plants in the northeast, including Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini plants and Tohoku Electric Power Co’s Onagawa plant.

Services on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line were temporarily suspended between Tokyo and Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, while operations of the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen lines were halted following the quake.